Today’s first-round NCAA Tournament match for the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team is against an opponent the 49ers coach is more than familiar with.

Several of the players on the Pepperdine squad that Long Beach faces today at 4:30 p.m. played against the 49ers in another first-round match two years ago, when the the Waves came to the Walter Pyramid and lost to Long Beach in four games before the 49ers lost to Hawaii the next evening.

“They’re a big, skilled and experienced team,” Brian Gimmillaro said of the No.23 Waves, who take a 20-7 record into the match with the No. 24 and 49ers (25-5).

Middle blocker Cassi Chamberlain, a former Lakewood High standout, and outside hitter Julie Rubenstein, both seniors, and outsider hitter Rachel Lumsden (whose father, Brian Lumsden, was a standout basketball player at Warren High and Cerritos College in the late 1970s), were starters when the Waves came to the Walter Pyramid.

And Gimmillaro thinks this could be a better Nina Matthies-coached Waves’ squad than the one his 2006 squad eliminated from the tournament.

“Rubenstein (who is 6-3 and a four-time all-West Coast Conference selection who was a first-team All-America as a junior) is a big, strong hitter who averages 4.3 kills (per set) and has a very high hitting percentage (.313),” he said.

“And they’re playing better defense.” Gimmillaro said. The Waves led the WCC in opponent’s hitting percentage, .171, and in digs at 15.3 per set.

The 49ers, in their 23rd consecutive NCAA tourney appearance, saw a nine-match winning streak snapped by the Big West Conference’s last-

place team, Cal State Northridge, on Nov.21 before they won their final two matches at Cal State Fullerton and at home against nationally ranked Colorado State last Saturday evening in the Walter Pyramid.

Four newcomers to the program – Caitlin Ledoux, the BWC Freshman of the Year, and fellow freshmen Lauren Menkel and Cat Highmark, as well as community college transfer Brittney Herzog, one of five all-conference selections – have contributed significantly to the 49ers to this season.

Another transfer who hadn’t played much of late, middle blocker Ya Chen Wang, played extensively – and well – during the regular-season finale with Colorado State.

“I thought we needed a little more firepower in our lineup,” he said, “and she can score.”

In reality, the 49ers – who suffered heavy losses after last season due to graduation – have probably already exceeded the expectations of most observers since they were picked to finish second behind Cal Poly in the conference but won it outright for the first time since 2001.

A victory tonight – barring a stunning upset by Albany of Stanford in the other first-round match played in Maples Pavilion tonight – would give the 49ers a shot at the second-ranked and host Cardinal Saturday night.

But first things – in this case, the Waves – come first before the 49ers think about stunning the volleyball world Saturday night.

“I think we have been improved all season,” Gimmillaro said. “Every day I’ve seen those signs. Now we can see if we’re up to this challenge.”